Pons gets vindication in UST win after futile showing against Ateneo

In the Lady Tamaraws’ shock three-set defeat to Ateneo last week, Pons was held to just five measly points after averaging 18.67 points a game in the first round of the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball tournament.

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It came like a wake-up call for Pons and vowed to a better player in the Lady Tamaraws’ next game as the elimination round enters a crucial stretch.

She found retribution when she led FEU to a 25-21, 25-21, 25-23 win over University of Santo Tomas on Wednesday where she finished with 15 points.

“I knew that I had more errors in our first game than I had points, that was my worst game of the season,” said Pons in Filipino. “I can’t afford to play like that again, it was really bad, and we had a lot of errors.”

FEU had 26 errors against Ateneo, slightly more than the 23 the Lady Tamaraws had against UST, but it was a big plus for Pons, who outmatched her personal rival Cherry Rondina by four points.

“I told myself, that would be my last bad game,” said Pons.

Pons also came through in crunch time against a Tigresses squad desperate to get back on track.

After Rondina tied the third set at 23-23, Pons immediately countered with an off-the-block kill and sent FEU to the 24-23 match point before teammate Czarina Grace Carandang ended UST with a service ace.

Pons said the victory against UST, the second winningest school in UAAP women’s volleyball history with 15 titles, was a big morale boost not just for her but for the whole team.

“This win was a big factor in boosting our morale,” said Pons whose school has won 29 women’s titles. “We played really bad against Ateneo and we told ourselves that we had to win this one against UST because we really had to get our confidence back.”

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